UFC 150 ‘Henderson vs. Edgar 2’ Preview

Henderson vs. Edgar

After losing a hard-fought decision to Benson
Henderson at UFC 144, “The Answer” quickly made his case for
receiving an immediate return bout with the newly crowned
lightweight champion. Since Edgar had to defend the belt against
B.J. Penn
and Gray
Maynard (twice), why should Henderson not have to do the same
against him, he inquired. Apparently the argument worked, because
the Toms River, N.J., native will square off with “Smooth” for a
second time in the UFC 150 main
event on Saturday at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Edgar has a tall task ahead of him in attempting to topple
Henderson, who can cause all kinds of problems with his size and
athleticism. Of course, we should all know better than to count
Edgar out in any fight. Talented lightweights rule the evening, as
former teammates Donald
Cerrone and Melvin
Guillard square off in the co-main event. While both Cerrone
and Guillard have hardly been hostile in the weeks leading up to
their bout, they should provide plenty of action once the Octagon
doors close.

Here is a closer look at UFC 150 “Henderson vs. Edgar 2,” with
analysis and picks:

UFC Lightweight Championship

The Matchup: This will be the third title rematch
of Edgar’s UFC career, which speaks to how closely contested the
New Jersey native’s fights have been of late. After he upset Penn
to capture the 155-pound belt at UFC 112, “The Prodigy” was granted
a second shot at “The Answer” because many felt Penn was a victim
of questionable judging. Another meeting between Edgar and Maynard
was scheduled when their UFC 125 title encounter resulted in an
unsatisfying draw. Edgar erased all doubt in the rematches, taking
a unanimous verdict from Penn at UFC 118 and stopping Maynard with
strikes in the fourth round at UFC 136.

This time, the Ricardo
Almeida Jiu-Jitsu representative finds himself on the other
side of the fence, having lost a five-round decision to Henderson
in February in a bout Edgar thought he won. While Edgar remained
competitive throughout, Henderson’s superiority in the match was
well established: “Smooth” controlled the center of the Octagon for
the majority of the 25 minutes and landed more significant strikes
than his opponent in every frame but the first. However, there were
no truly lopsided rounds and Edgar was granted an immediate rematch
in the interest of fairness.

UFC President Dana White has been pushing Edgar to drop to 145
pounds, but, thus far, the former champion has not heeded his boss’
suggestion. Thanks to a seven-fight unbeaten streak leading up to
the loss to Henderson that included victories against larger
fighters like Sean Sherk,
Maynard and Penn, there was no reason to doubt Edgar’s thought
process. Those questions came to the forefront again at UFC 144, as
Henderson appeared to be at least a full weight class above Edgar
as the two men squared off in Japan. In the past, Edgar has been
able to negate his size disadvantage thanks to solid boxing, the
use of good footwork and angles and a withering pace. More athletic
than Maynard and better conditioned than Penn, Henderson might very
well represent a puzzle that Edgar will not be able to solve.

“The Answer” has a good sense of when to change levels and
possesses a quick shot, but he was unable to maintain any
consistent control of Henderson on the mat in their first
encounter. In fact, the turning point of their first fight likely
came in the waning moments of round two, when Edgar was crumpled by
an upkick from Henderson. Later, Henderson was able to apply his
trademark guillotine when Edgar slammed him to the mat for a
takedown. When Edgar took Henderson’s back, the former
WEC king made Edgar give up the position by countering with a
standing kimura. Although the stat sheet shows Edgar had a 5-to-1
edge in takedowns, it is not the clear advantage it would seem to
be, as he was never able to control the
MMA Lab product.

On the feet, Edgar must connect with more volume than he did the
first time around. While he does a good job of constantly moving
and using angles, he lacks the one-shot power that would deter
Henderson from moving forward. “Smooth” landed a consistent stream
of kicks to the legs and body of Edgar, who caught many of them
after they had already done their damage. If Henderson takes a
similar approach, Edgar will need to do a better job of utilizing
his countering opportunities. Henderson also had success landing
knees in close, and any time the fight moves to the clinch, his
upper body strength will come into play.

The Pick: Edgar can win this bout; he just has to
do everything he usually does better than he did the first time.
That means more movement, landing with more volume and utilizing
leg kicks to slow his foe’s attack. He will not win the fight by
scoring takedowns if he is unable to keep Henderson down for any
significant portion of time. In the end, the champion will prove to
be too big, too strong and too athletic to let Edgar author another
underdog story. Henderson wins by decision.